-National Herald Well-known Belgian-Indian economist Jean Drèze, reflects on the times we live in this animated conversation with Ujjawal Krishnam Jean Drèze, the Belgian-Indian economist, true to his reputation, laces humour and an acerbic wit to reflect on the times we live in. Self deprecating, he brushes aside the question how he juggles between his roles as economist, activist and teacher. He wonders at the multi-tasking ability of Indian women instead. Nor...

-Firstpost.com The year is due to end, and the report card for India's flagship financial inclusion programme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana for 2018 is out. Before diving into the specifics of the programme, it would be useful to remember that the year has been revelatory with regard to women's issues, from the #MeToo movement to the 217 years that it will apparently take to close the gender pay gap. In...

-The Hindu The Electoral Bond Scheme inhibits the citizen’s capacity to meaningfully participate in political and public life Early this year the government introduced an Electoral Bond Scheme purportedly with a view to cleansing the prevailing culture of political sponsorship. But the programme’s failings have been so blindingly obvious, and its consequences so utterly devastating to rectitude and transparency in government, that even O.P. Rawat, who just retired Chief Election Commissioner, thought...

-The Indian Express In an advisory on August 7 to all private satellite television channels, the I&B Ministry had asked them to “refrain from using the nomenclature Dalit”, and use only the Constitutional term, ‘Scheduled Caste’. New Delhi: Disagreeing with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s advisory that the media should stop using the word Dalit and replace it with Scheduled Caste, the Press Council of India has decided it will not...

-Scroll.in News channels in Assam often distort, defame, suppress and sensationalise, all to advance the perceived of the Axomiya jati. A crowd of two-wheelers rushes forward. In the melee, a young man beats the motorcyclists with a thick bamboo stick. The video ends as one of the two-wheelers loses control, as its rider tries to avoid the bamboo stick, and collides with the person recording the video. Cheery captions appear: “Bholuka bnaah [bholuka...